Fahrenheit 451

﻿Dana Megin
Dan Ferat
English 2 CPE
Symbolism of Fire in Fahrenheit 451Fire destroys everything in its path. There are no exceptions, it does not care what it is burning it only know destruction. Fire even has the ability to destroy thoughts and knowledge. But fire can be a good thing. When a forest burns the ashes from the burnt trees replenish the soil. It allows the forest to regrow. Ray Bradbury, science-fiction novelist, understands the nature of fire better than anyone and demonstrates that understanding in Fahrenheit 451. Fire captures both destruction and renewal because when it destroys ideas and knowledge, the world has a chance to regrow new ideas and rediscover knowledge.

When Guy Montage meets Clarisse McCullen she destroys his entire world. She doesn’t use a physical fire to destroy it; she uses words as her fire. With one question, “ Are you happy?” (10) She burns every thing in his world; all his thoughts all his joys, and all his illusions of the world around him. Soon he comes to realize the truth, “He felt his smile slide away…He was not happy. He said the words to himself. He recognized this as the true state of affairs” (12). No longer could he believe the lies society had always happened; everything’s ok, you are happy, life is good. Suddenly those ideas and thoughts were gone and he needed to replace them with new ones that were all his own. This is why every one needs a Clarisse McCullen in their life. Someone to destroy everything in order create new ideas and learn new things that they never thought about before. In the book, she forces Montage to think about his life. After he is able to think and say what he wants and not just what society has trained him to think and say. This is important in the real world because without people breaking the mold of society and thinking new and different ideas, nothing would ever change. The world must change to progress but change is hard. When everything is gone, there is no choice but to...

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1. What do the "fireman" do for a living?
Firemen burn books. On a deeper level, firemen control society and perpetuate the classless uneducated society of Montag’s world.
2. In the opening scene, why are the books compared to birds?
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3. According to pages 3-4, what does Montag think of his job?
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4. Who does Montag meet on the way home?
Clarisse
5. During his conversation, Montag says that "You never wash it off completely" referring to the kerosene. What could this mean symbolically?
One can never wash off the mantle of firefighters. They are always responsible for the controlling the thoughts and actions, to limited degree, of society.
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